Martis Dam, located near Lake Tahoe in California, impounds Martis Creek and provides flood protection for the city of Reno, Nevada. Martis Lake has a capacity of 20,400 acre-feet, and the US Army Corps of Engineers operates the dam principally for flood control.
Martis Dam is a rolled earth-filled dam having a separate concrete spillway, as shown in the figure. Constructed in 1972, the capability of the dam's spillway to pass flows associated with very large storm events was last evaluated in 1981. Recent large storm events and changes in NWS guidance have compelled the Corps to reassess the hydrology of the Martis Lake basin, thereby prompting a review of the structural soundness of the dam and its spillway.
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The Corps contracted with us to evaluate and report on the adequacy of the Martis Dam spillway for passing the probable maximum flood (PMF). We defined precipitation and computed runoff for the local storm ("cloud-burst") PMF and for the general PMF with snowmelt following procedures outlined in NWS Hydrometeorological Report (HMR) 59.
We delivered a complete report to the Corps summarizing our evaluation of the spillway. The report outlines our analysis procedures and describes our findings pertaining to the maximum reservoir water surface elevation, maximum spillway discharge, and the maximum percentage of the PMF that the spillway could discharge safely.
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